Year 6

Dear parents/carers,  

We have had a busy term and the children have been working incredibly hard. I am so proud of the determination they have shown and the progress they have made.  

In English this term, we have read the book ‘Clockwork’ by Philip Pullman. We started by reading the first half of the book and then we took a break while we wrote our own predictions for the ending. The children had some brilliant (and slightly terrifying) ideas for how the story might end! Since writing our own predictions, we have finished the actual book which we really enjoyed. 

This term in maths, we have been very busy! We started the half term learning how to find the perimeter, area and volume of a variety of shapes. We then moved onto ratio. This was a completely new topic for year 6 which involved a lot of word problems. We then moved onto a unit on statistics where we analysed line graphs and pie charts. Before finally ending the term looking at properties of shapes including angles in shapes and nets of 3D shapes. We covered a lot this half term so if your children would like to practise any of these skills again, please use the maths revision books.  

In science we have been focusing on electricity. It has been lovely to have some more practical lessons in science as we have been creating circuits and testing our hypotheses out. We have also practised recording our observations using scientific language. 

This term’s theme across the school has been Our Sustainable World. We started this unit looking at the sustainability goals before narrowing our focus down to two of these goals: climate action and renewable energy. We looked at some different changemakers from around the world including Greta Thunberg. When thinking about what we could do to make a difference, we decided that spreading the message and informing people about climate change and what we can do about it was the best use of our time. To do this, we researched some specific actions that could make a difference and created placards to share this with some parents in our climate campaign on the playground. The children really enjoyed researching and preparing for this and were able to share what they had learned with parents really clearly. 

The roll out of the revision guides for homework has been really successful so far with lots of children opting to do extra pages to practise any skills they need to focus on. Please encourage your children to complete the Easter homework – the pages will be posted on Showbie if they need a reminder of what this was. 

The children will be sitting their SATs after Easter. Here are those dates again as a reminder: 

Monday 9th May: Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling 

Tuesday 10th May: Reading 

Wednesday 11th May: Arithmetic & Reasoning 

Thursday 12th May: Reasoning 

If you have any questions regarding SATs week, please do get in touch with me through the office. 

I hope you all have a lovely Easter break! 

Miss Donaghy 😊 

As we reach the end of another half term in year 6, I have a few updates to share with you.

Half term homework:

A homework booklet will be uploaded onto Showbie tomorrow. There are 15 questions for each day of the half term week to keep their brains ‘ticking over’ during the holidays. This will replace the usual Sumdog and spelling homework that the children receive. Everyone who completes the booklet over the holidays will be entered into a raffle to win a special prize! In addition, children should be continuing to read the book they have brought home from school. Sumdog will also still be available to the children should they wish to do any additional maths practice.

Meeting about residential and SATs:

On 9^th March at 2:45, we will be holding a meeting in the hall to discuss the residential trip and SATs. We will run through the itinerary for the residential and it will also be an opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have. We will also talk about SATs in more detail so that you are aware exactly what to expect that week and there will also be a chance for you to ask any questions you may have.

End of year celebrations:

We are currently discussing ideas for an end of term party/celebration and will be in touch soon when dates have been confirmed!

All of year 6 have worked incredibly hard this half term and I look forward to this continuing into term 4!

I hope everyone has a lovely half term,

Miss Donaghy 😊

This week in English, we have written our independent narratives based on Harry Potter’s first game of Quidditch but from a different character’s perspective. We have been focusing on using higher level punctuation and making powerful vocabulary choices. The writing produced has been incredible! We are publishing this writing next week so I will put some pictures up onto the website then but remember you can always have a look at your children’s learning on their ipads on Showbie. 

In maths, we have started looking at algebra. There were lots of nerves before we started this topic as it sounded like a big scary year 6 topic but everyone has approached the lessons with resilience and positivity and we have found out that algebra isn’t so scary after all! Please keep practising your times tables at home as they continue to be so important in everything we do! Also, there is a task on Sumdog for the children to do as homework this week. 

In history this week, we studied some different sources looking at what it was like to be a child during the industrial revolution. We found out what it would have been like to work in the coal mines or in a cotton mill. In RE, we read the story about the Monkey King. We then used our incredible drama skills to re-enact the story to the class! 

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend,   

Miss Donaghy 😊  

Year 6 have been absolutely incredible this week! Once again they have approached the SATs papers with enthusiasm and determination and we are so proud of every single one of them. Once the papers have been marked and analysed, the children will be bringing them home with them so that you are able to see how they got on. 

We have also had time this week to look at some of the key inventions from the Industrial Revolution including the telephone and the phonograph and to look at how fossils have helped us to understand evolution! What a busy week! 

I hope everyone has a lovely relaxing weekend and a well-deserved break! 

 Miss Donaghy 😊  

This week in English, we have watched the scene of Harry Potter’s first Quidditch match. We thought about how that must have felt as a first year in front of all the other older children and used some ‘show not tell’ to describe it. We have also been thinking about our verb choices in our writing to ensure it has the best impact on our reader – for example using ‘zoomed’ instead of ‘flew’. 

In maths, we have started looking at percentages including converting them into fractions and decimals. We have also been calculating percentages of amounts. We have been really resilient learning this method but we will keep practising. Please keep practising your times tables at home as they continue to be so important in everything we do! Also, there is a task on Sumdog for the children to do as homework this week to prepare for the tests next week. 

In history this week, we began to look at some of the changes that occurred during the Industrial Revolution. We discussed which we thought were the most important changes and had to justify our ideas. There is a knowledge organiser on Teams that the children can use to do some further research on the topic at home. In science, we have been looking at different adaptations animals have in order to survive in their environments. We then designed our own animals using a variety of adaptations suited for different environments. 

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend,   

Miss Donaghy 😊  

This week we have continued reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. We are really enjoying the story so far and have even watched some clips from the film to inspire our writing. We have written a character description about a main character and a setting description about Diagon Alley. Next week, we will be working together to rewrite Harry’s first Quidditch game.

In maths, we have finished our unit on decimals and are now moving on to look at percentages next week. Please keep practising your times tables at home as they continue to be so important in everything we do! Also, there is a task on Sumdog for the children to do as homework this week to recap our unit on decimals.

In history this week, we started our new unit on the Victorians and the Industrial Revolution. We started this unit by comparing the lives of rich and poor people in Victorian times. There is a knowledge organiser on Teams that the children can use to do some further research on the topic at home. We have also started a new unit in science on Evolution and Inheritance. We enjoyed learning about Charles Darwin’s idea of natural selection and have started to look at what characteristics we have inherited from our parents.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend,

Miss Donaghy.

We have had a lovely first week back in school. Everyone has come back refreshed and ready to learn and has really tried their best this week.  

In English, we have started our new unit on Harry Potter which I know lots of the children are very excited about! We will be reading the first book together and also watching some clips from the film to inspire our writing this term. 

In maths, we have started a unit on decimals where we first looked at place value before moving onto calculating with decimals. We have absolutely smashed this unit and next week we will move onto looking at how fractions link in with decimals. Please keep practising your times tables at home as they continue to be so important in everything we do!  

This week has been SafeguardingWeek across the school and we have had lessons on peer pressure, safe touch and e-safety. We have had some interesting discussions and talked about what would be the best thing to do in different situations. We also made some posters to encourage people to resist peer pressure.  

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend,   

Miss Donaghy 😊  

Year 6 have worked incredibly hard this week. In English, we have been planning and writing narratives about a refugee and the journey they have made to flee their country. The children are applying everything they have learned in English this term to create some incredible stories. In maths, we have moved onto multiplication and division of fractions. Year 6 now know how to add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions! We just need to keep practising all these skills so that we can become more fluent when doing mixed calculations. In History, we looked at the end of WWII and some key turning points in the war. We worked in groups to research particular turning points such as the D-Day landings. We then had to present the information we had found back to the class.  

On Wednesday, we enjoyed our Christmas dinner at lunch time and we made some special Christmas hats for the occasion! Next week, we are looking forward to Christmas week where children will be having lots of fun whilst learning through a variety of arts and craft activities, alongside some Christmas themed lessons. As part of this week, we have some special events planned.  On Thursday 16th December, we will be having a class party and we would really appreciate some food donations to share as a class.  It would be lovely if you could send in some packaged (shop bought) snack-type food eg: crisps, popcorn, biscuits, cakes, breadsticks etc. (NO NUTS please) by Tuesday 14th December at the latest.  However, there is no requirement for you to contribute and is completely voluntary. Children are allowed to wear non-school uniform on Thursday for the party but please make sure that their outfit is warm and suitable for playing outdoors.  Also, on Friday 17th December (the last day of term), children can wear a Christmas jumper to school and are permitted to bring in ONE NON-ELECTRICAL toy on that day. Please ensure that this is in a named bag so that it can be kept safe in your child’s locker when it is not being used. 

The carol concert is getting closer now so please continue to practise the songs at home. The YouTube links have been uploaded into the class discussion on Showbie. 

Next week, your children will also be bringing home their SATs paper from our mock assessments in November. Please take some time to look through these with your child so that you can see what they need to work on. 

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend,   

Miss Donaghy 😊  

We have had a fantastic week this week. In English, we have been learning about the struggles that lone refugee children go through. We have read news articles and watched an interview with Lord Dubs to see what the UK has already done to support some of these children. Then, we decided to write letters to Boris Johnson explain why we think he needs to do more to help them. This links with our class book – ‘The Arrival’ as this is one refugee’s story. 

In maths, we have continued working on addition and subtraction of mixed numbers including some reasoning and word problems. Our confidence with these methods is improving but a bit of extra practise at home would really help us to secure this knowledge. We will soon be moving onto multiplication and division with fractions.  

In PSHE, we have been focusing on British Values and this week focused on the rule of law. To start this lesson off we experienced what would happen without rules. We first completed an ‘egg’ (we actually used a golf ball to avoid the mess!!) and spoon race with very strict rules. We then repeated the activity but with no rules! Afterwards we discussed how this made us feel and why rules are so important. In history, we continued our topic on WWII by discussing evacuation. We thought about who was evacuated and what this experience would have been like. We made a mind map on our iPads demonstrating our knowledge. 

The carol concert is getting closer now so please continue to practise the songs at home. The YouTube links have been uploaded into the class discussion on Showbie. 

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend,   

Miss Donaghy 😊  

We have had a lovely week this week. In English, we have written a diary entry as the main character from our graphic novel. He is making an important journey to find somewhere safe to live and we had lots of discussions around how he would feel making that journey. We also looked at the next part of ‘The Arrival’ to understand some of the difficulties he had arriving in a strange country for the first time. 

In maths, we have been practising addition and subtraction of fractions including mixed numbers. We are getting much more confident with this and are starting to apply our skills to word problems. The more fluent we are with our times tables, the easier the calculations are so keep practising them at home!  

In science this week, we continued our topic of living things by looking at microorganisms. We were fascinated that there are so many living things that are too small for us to see including bacteria, plankton and dust mites. In history, we continued our World War II topic by discussing the Holocaust. While this is a difficult topic to think about, the children were respectful and asked some insightful questions. 

The carol concert is getting closer now so please continue to practise the songs at home. The YouTube links have been uploaded into the class discussion on Showbie. 

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend,   

Miss Donaghy 😊  

Year 6 have had another amazing week and have settled back into normal lessons quickly. In English, we have looked more at our class book which is a graphic novel called ‘The Arrival’. We have had to use our inference skills to pick out clues from the pictures to understand the story. We also really enjoyed doing some role play of one picture from the book.

In maths, we have started learning about fractions with a focus on equivalent fractions and converting between improper and mixed numbers. Next week we will move onto calculating with fractions including addition and subtraction.

In RE this week, we read the story of Angulimala and learned about how Buddha was able to help him to feel peaceful and content. We created some lovely story boards to summarise the story which you can see in the pictures.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend,

Miss Donaghy 😊

Year 6 have been AMAZING this week! Every single one them has tried their best in the test papers that we have done and they should all be very proud of themselves. They have come in every day with a positive mindset and taken this fully in their stride! 

As well as doing our SATs papers this week, we have also started our new topic in History focusing on World War 2. We learned about the Blitz this week including why it happened and the impact it had on the people of Britain. We had lots of questions about it so are looking forward to finding out more in coming lessons.  

In science, we are learning about classification and we found out about Linnaeus’ system this week. There were lots of groups to remember so we came up with some silly mnemonics to help us to remember them – ask your child if they can remember theirs! 

I hope everyone has a lovely relaxing weekend after a very busy week! 

Miss Donaghy 😊 

We have had an incredible last week of term in year 6 this week! In English, we have written our own poems based on our goals and ambitions. Some of us enjoyed performing them to the class as well. Ask your child to read theirs to you as they are all uploaded onto Showbie. 

This week we have also done lots of art lessons where we have worked on our oil pastel and sketching skills. We have also looked at how we can express ourselves through our artwork using different colours to show different emotions and ambitions. Our final art piece was a self-portrait sketch in the style of Da Vinci which we were really proud of. 

I hope you all have a lovely relaxing half term! There is a competition on Sumdog for the children to participate in while they are at home as well. 

We have had a fantastic week of learning in Year 6 this week! In English, we have been thinking about our ambitions for the future and how we might achieve these goals. We will use these ideas in the poems that we write next week. 

In Maths, we have been focusing on formal written methods for multiplication and division. We have shown lots of resilience as we have practised these methods and we have shown great progress over the week. Keep practising those times tables at home as well! There will another task set on Sumdog to complete as homework based on multiplication and division. 

In Geography this week, we continued our research into Africa but now focusing on South Africa. We looked at some of the human and physical features of the country and then compared it to the UK. We then created presentations or posters to explain these comparisons. In RE this year we are focusing on Buddhism. In our lesson this week we recapped everything we have learned so far by completing a quiz. Ask us what we can remember! 

This week in English we have done our independent write from Jeff’s point of view. They were amazing and we worked really hard on engaging our reader! Next week, we are going to be looking at writing some poetry. 

In Maths, we have focused on properties of number including factors, multiples and square numbers. We learned lots of new vocabulary and had some interesting discussions about number. There is a task on Sumdog for us to do so that we can keep practising at home. We will be moving onto division next week so keep practising times tables at home. 

In Geography this week, we researched some key human and physical features of Africa. We found out about some different capital cities – ask us which is the only country in Africa to have 3 capital cities! You can some pictures of the posters we created to display the key information we found out. In computing, we have started doing some coding including how to create a Sprite and make it move around on the screen. Ask us to show you what we created on our iPads! 

This week in English we finished writing our narrative from Bradley’s point of view. We worked hard to really show how our character was feeling and learned two different ways we can use colons in our writing. You can see a photo of our class write which includes sentences from lots of our writing. Next week we will be doing an independent write from a different character’s perspective. Why not ask us to tell you our plan! 

In Maths, we have continued to focus on addition and subtraction including using bar models to help us to solve gap fill problems. We will be moving onto multiplication and division soon so keep practising times tables at home. 

In History this week, we read some sources about migration from different periods of time. We then used hot seating to ask the people who wrote these sources some questions and imagine what their answers would be. I was very impressed with some of the drama skills in the class!